Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1887-10-29
STOPPING FORWARD.
How Vertigo and sudden Faintness are
Often Caused.

From the London Lancet
Every one knows that STOPPING forward, par
ticulariy after rising quickly from the bed In the
morning, when the stomach is empty and the
heart has less than ordinary support from the
vscera below the diaphram, Is very apt to occa-
sion form Of faintness with vertigo not unlike
that which occurs in seasicknesS We do not at
the moment speak OF the faintness and giddlnesS
from cerebral anaemia, which are directly conse-
quent upon suddenly assuming the erect after
long continuing in the recumbent posture, but OF
the more alarming sensation OF being in the CEN
usually from lert to right, with loss OF power TO
stand or even sit, and an almost nightmare feel
to 90 the
perlence tne sunerer retains painfully acute con-
scloesness This, we say, is familiar as one at
dicated.
With many other varieties of the vertigo conse-
Quent upon heart weakness or cerebral anem1a
observation or experience has made US all &C
quaintsd. We cannot, however, help thinking
OF veins OF the neck Offering an obstacle TO the re-
turn or blood from the head. with its important
organs, are not 80 well recognized. The peculiar
iofm-or, more accurately. the several formS-of
headache distinctly caused in this way when the
mead Is long bowed forward on the chest, bending
the neck on itself, cannot fail to occur TO every
one: nor win the high tension OF the eyeball, the
turgid ana heavy eyeiids, the snufning nose, the
deafness with ouzzing or throbblng In the ears,
~
flushed or dsrkened color OF the face, resulting
from the obstructed venou5 circulation through
the pended neck be forgotten. There are other and
more per1louS, though secondary, effects OF lean
Ing forward when the heart Is weak or the blood
vessels are not so strong as they ought TO be,
which should not be overlooked.
Beyond question the extra strain thrown upon
the apparatus Of the circulation by anything that
fmpede5 the free passage OF blood through almost
any part OF the venOuS system Is more severe ana
dangerous than physically equal strain thrown
on The arteries. At least this Is so In adult life,
and without going further into details In cOnnec-
ton with the modus Operdndi OF the mischief to
which we point IL may be permissible to urge that
the subject is one to which attention may be USE
unlikely to have hearts readily overburdened and
blood vessels stretched beyond recovery, or even
ruptured, should be warned quite as earnestly
against suddenly assuming or too long retain
Ing p0stures which do, however slightly and
partially, impede the return OF blood through
the veins. We know how prolonged sitting
may cause the veins OF the legs to become dis
sation Of their contents When this sort OF thing
happens, even though in comparatively thrilling de-
gree In the case OF vessels directly connected with
such delicate organs as the eye, the ear and the
Dran 1t Is easy 10 see that the results may be very
serious In their Character and, probably rev post
ures commonly taken up by persons who lead
somewhat sedentary lives are so prone to do mis-
work at table which is not sufficiently high TO
insure the head being so raised that the veins OF
the neck may not be in any way compressed or
the return OF blood from the head embarrassed or
delayed We see reason to believe that II this APP
parently small matter were generally understood
there would be fewer head and heart troubles, and
we WIN go SO far as to say that some lives now lost